Trip to Patagonia, Argentina (Click on any image to load a larger copy)

Introduction

I arrived at the El Calafate Airport in the Patagonia region in Argentina after a short flight from Ushuaia in
the Tierra del Fuego region of Argentina (See Trip to Tierra del Fuego,
Argentina) and was met by the tour company that arranged my visit to Patagonia. After a somewhat lengthy
trip from the airport, I arrived in the small town El Calafate and checked in to my hotel. I spent the remaining
part of the day walking around El Calafate, stopping to see some of its stores, and having one a few meal on my
trip that did not involve a steak (I had a pizza).

The next morning, a bus picked me up at my hotel and we head off to the Glaciers National Park which is some 80
KM /50 Miles west of the city. As we moved west, we moved from a desert climate to a evergreen forest and in he
middle of the forest is the Perito Moreno Glacier. The glacier is very large, about the size of Washington DC
and is one of the few advancing glacier in the world. An advancing glacier is one that is growing in size rather
than deceasing.

After entering the National Park, the bus stopped at a dock so that we could board a boat that would take us
close to the glacier. While it was the beginning of summer and around 80 F / 26 C outside, the weather on the
boat was considerable different (probably 20 F/ 6 C). Unfortunately I did not have a coat was shivering for a
while. Despite the cold weather, the views from the boat were great. It was interesting to see the different
colors the ice of the glacier could be - from white to dark blue.

After the boat ride, we took the bus to the eastern side of the glacier where a set of walkways allow the
visitors to get close to the glacier. While walking around the walkways, I hears a load cracking sound and soon
saw chunk of the glacier break off and land in the water surrounding the glacier (Lake Argentina). I also saw
the Braco Rico, a tributary of the Lake Argeinita, that is blocked off from the lake by the glacier, The Braco
Rico puts a large amount of pressure on the glacier and the pressure has caused a channel to be formed in the
glacier to allow the Braco Rico to drain in to the lake.

After seeing the walkway, the bus headed back to El Calafate. I had another steak dinner and headed back to the
hotel as I was heading back home the next day. The trip home would be interesting as the airplane that was to
take me to Buenos Aires, first had to fly back to Ushuaia before going to Buenos Aires. The takeoff in El
Calafate was interesting as I saw a hare cross the runway as we were taxing. In Buenos Aires, I first had to
change terminals before checking in on United to fly back to the US. I did not get the EconomyPlus seat like I
had on the way down, but I did have two seats to myself.

Photo Info

I used a Olympus C-750UZ 4.0 Megapixel Digital Camera. The images were cleaned up a bit with Adobe PhotoShop
Elements (To correct the color balance). Additional Camera Information

Patagonia

The southern face of the Perito Moreno Glacier

A boat traveling past the northern face of the Perito Moreno Glacier

Close up of the Perito Moreno Glacier

More of the Perito Moreno Glacier

The Argentinean flag matching the blue of the sky and water and the white of the glacier

The eastern face of the Perito Moreno Glacier with walkways for tourists to travel on